Meet the microscopic life in your home — and on your face | Anne Madden

Behold the microscopic jungle in and around you: tiny organisms living on your cheeks, under your sofa and in the soil in your backyard. We have an adversarial relationship with these microbes — we sanitize, exterminate and disinfect — but according to microbiologist Anne Madden, they’re sources of new technologies and medicines waiting to be discovered. These microscopic alchemists aren’t gross, Madden says — they’re the future.